Just got the beta today so I haven't really had much time to mess around with it and find any real errors, however I do have a few minor suggestions that might make it look a little bit better.

On the home screen when you remove enough icons they align to the right side. It would be nice to see them centered when there arn't enough icons to fill all the spaces.

In the movies section some of the views have media flags and some of them do not. Specifically I'm talking about poster view 2 which I like a lot but it doesn't have media flags. poster view 2 also doesn't having running time which some of them do so that would be nice also. space on it is limited so it would definitely take a little bit of creativity.

Big posters looks very nice as well. Maybe more transparency so you can see the fan art better. Also a feature to turn on or off the blu ray disc icons. Some people might like it but i think it looks a bit tacky. Maybe itll grow on me as I use it more.

As for tv I think that there are some view types much better than ones I've ever seen before. I was especially impressed with the side banners one. However I think that instead of having the cut off fan art above the plot details but the season banner right there.

Finally this is more of a feature request than anything else. In plex on mac os x when you press escape in a movie it exits the movie instead of leaving it playing. I thought that was a much better than idea than the way xbmc does it where when you press escape it leaves it playing. However I'm sure some people like it so having it as on option to turn on and off I think would be best. Also in plex when you press escape in the menus it takes you back a level instead of having to press on the back a level icon which is always ugly and eliminates the need for that icon.

In movies when I got to get info it doesn't have the source of the file which I use all the time to know what computer a certain file is on and such. I think it would be good to put that in somewhere for sure

Proph3T Wrote:In movies when I got to get info it doesn't have the source of the file which I use all the time to know what computer a certain file is on and such. I think it would be good to put that in somewhere for sure

I have to disagree with you to be honest, you are looking at something from an old XBMC skin point of view.

If you have took the time to set up your home cinema or media properly, then why do you need where the file location is?

What good is it anyway, of where is this movie too?

I shall once I buy more hard drives will have say Green Zone in Green Zone directory, so why do I need your file is located in Z:\Green Zone

From looking at the info screen, I would have to say the following

Play - Well maybe you can keep that one
Refresh - Being honest I have not tried this
Get Thumb - Probaly remove with third party software to create nfo's
Get fanart - the same as above
Trailer - obviously keep

Suggestions for improvement if possible

View cast, so it brings up another screen or similar with the faces of the people involved, view studio so brings up a list of their movies, maybe directors etc.

We are in the 21st Century people 3D is here once again, but looking much better now, get off your x-boxes or cheap ions and move on, the future is being held back due to some people, ok it is nice to be complient to all, but if you look at some of the pictures of home set ups or cinemas then they can afford a decent pc.

Maybe we need to have a decent spec level, this skin will work for the ZX81 etc

well i need that alot of times when there are movies with sequels because they do not scrape correctly so i have to be able to see the file name and stuff because without it i cant refresh the info. so maybe when you buy more hard drives and have tons of movies you'll realize that sometimes things like this are necessary.

MarkTaunton Wrote:We are in the 21st Century people 3D is here once again, but looking much better now, get off your x-boxes or cheap ions and move on, the future is being held back due to some people, ok it is nice to be complient to all, but if you look at some of the pictures of home set ups or cinemas then they can afford a decent pc.

Maybe we need to have a decent spec level, this skin will work for the ZX81 etc

Thanks for reminding everyone of this AGAIN. I don't know where we would be headed without you....probably back to using VHS players. It is a good thing we have people like you who contribute zero, speak on matters you know nothing about, and try to see skins made fit to your order only.

Maybe you should just make one since you have it all figured out......Oh wait, you can't!!!! People like you make me want to stop contributing!!

MarkTaunton Wrote:If you have took the time to set up your home cinema or media properly, then why do you need where the file location is?

What good is it anyway, of where is this movie too?

The only place I have to disagree with you here is occasionally when a movie is mis-identified by a scraper, or I have a duplicate movie in the listing, its helpful to know what the original file name was without having to fire up explorer and go looking (for instance, a .sample getting left in a directory and getting scraped as a duplicate movie).

I know this is an outlying case, but it is a place where its helpful to me to see the original filename, if not the path.

MarkTaunton Wrote:I have to disagree with you to be honest, you are looking at something from an old XBMC skin point of view.

If you have took the time to set up your home cinema or media properly, then why do you need where the file location is?

What good is it anyway, of where is this movie too?

I shall once I buy more hard drives will have say Green Zone in Green Zone directory, so why do I need your file is located in Z:\Green Zone

From looking at the info screen, I would have to say the following

Play - Well maybe you can keep that one
Refresh - Being honest I have not tried this
Get Thumb - Probaly remove with third party software to create nfo's
Get fanart - the same as above
Trailer - obviously keep

Suggestions for improvement if possible

View cast, so it brings up another screen or similar with the faces of the people involved, view studio so brings up a list of their movies, maybe directors etc.

We are in the 21st Century people 3D is here once again, but looking much better now, get off your x-boxes or cheap ions and move on, the future is being held back due to some people, ok it is nice to be complient to all, but if you look at some of the pictures of home set ups or cinemas then they can afford a decent pc.

Maybe we need to have a decent spec level, this skin will work for the ZX81 etc

While you make some interesting points I would like to point out that 3D works just fine on Xbox and ION boxes. The weak pillar here is implementation. The power for 3D is there, it simply isn't being harnessed.

Another point is that most people aren't interested in fancy 3D eye candy where it isn't needed. I like a elegant and intuitive menu system that is pleasing to look at while still maintaining functionality. Everyone these days wants a plethora of eye candy with no underlying functionality which leads to disgruntled users. Take Apple for example, they enjoy making everything 'pretty' without any functionality or sense of open standards.

From a XBMC skinning point of view, the problem with too much customization will always plague us until we find a better way of catering to a diverse user group while keeping things from being slow. Look at Aeon, it is a great looking skin which will never go anywhere as it is plagued by over-customization. Half the ridiculous options go unused, yet the code for it all is still there, causing it to run piss poor on any low end machine.

This has gotten a little off topic, but as far as Shade is concerned it looks to be a promising skin. I haven't tried it yet, though I can only warn to stay away from the direction Aeon took with over-customization.

KISS (Keep It Simple Stupid) is an ideal to strive for in this type of work. Options are nice as long as they are practical for a diversity. Catering to individual needs is work for the individual, not the group.

Oh and as far as scraping your media goes, use something like EMM or Media Companion and a well maintained system of organizing your media and all your headaches will go away. Following standards always helps in these situations. I will say ever since I started organizing my media into individual folders with the year in the folder name most of my scraping issues have disappeared.

If this post seems a like a rant then I apologize, sleep has not been a friend to be for some time and the effects are beginning to be apparent.

ekim232 Wrote:Thanks for reminding everyone of this AGAIN. I don't know where we would be headed without you....probably back to using VHS players. It is a good thing we have people like you who contribute zero, speak on matters you know nothing about, and try to see skins made fit to your order only.

Maybe you should just make one since you have it all figured out......Oh wait, you can't!!!! People like you make me want to stop contributing!!

Ekim as I have always said it is excellent that everyone who can does, and big appaluase to them, but at the end of the day, if everyone said oh yes jolly well done, and did not give either negative or constructive critiscism towards a skin of the future of XBMC then we might as well head back towards the VHS.

People should skin for themselves, about what they are looking for, rather than what anyone else wants, but when someone asks for comments or suggestions, either good or bad, then people have to expect the good as well as the bad.

XBMC has moved on from the XBox now, which a lot of skins were aimed at, for the next year, couple of years, then there will always be one person who will use an XBox with older skins, but the skinning will make a vast improvement and move with the times.

Team Blackbolt have already set a new standard for skinning with Xperience, XBMC shall soon be hitting 10.5 thanks to all the great work by community members who have the knowledge to create this beautiful beast.

When Shade is released then I hope that a hell of a lot of people enjoy it, because it is both simple and also classy as well.

It is something more newer than the older skins, and hopefully the new skinners who are learning on older skins, become the future stars of tomorrow.

Your tv views are phenomenal! For movies, be sure to include a type of list view for large collections (That still shows all the info on the selected film, much like Confluence's Media Info views) I find that scrolling through tons of box art can become tiresome in large collections.

nickkarstedt Wrote:Your tv views are phenomenal! For movies, be sure to include a type of list view for large collections (That still shows all the info on the selected film, much like Confluence's Media Info views) I find that scrolling through tons of box art can become tiresome in large collections.

MarkTaunton Wrote:Dont worry about background pictures, they are changable

You need just a basic screen. The skin is fantastic man, dont worry about graphics, the job is seriously done, there is nothing more you can add at the moment.

Release the thing and that is the gods honest truth

Thanks Mark, I am anxiously waiting for someone to help me finish up these graphics. I had one reply and I sent him a PM. I need some flags made and also the view images for each view when options is pulled up.

You're right, the Skin is feature complete for now, Addon support will come after official release as I havent even installed a new build lately.